My 4 month old baby has a routine like a student!

Hi, this is my first time doing this so i hope im doing it right! I have a problem and need some advice to solve it. My 4 month old baby boy has been sleeping from 11pm - 6-7am since he was 8 weeks old. I have recently put him onto bottles and he is no longer breast fed. For the last few days he has been going to sleep gone 11pm - even if i feed him early 8pm/9pm (he stays up till 11 no matter what i do). Then he wakes at 5am wanting a bottle feed. i feed him then he falls asleep straight away and wont wake up again until 10am/11am - ISH! I wake him up before and he just goes back to sleep. Basically he is sleeping like a student 11pm- 11am! I need to break this routine and get him to sleep in the early evening. i have started giving him baby rice as he is obviously hungry but shouldnt he be sleeping longer now?! If anyone can give me any advice then i would be very greatful. he has a bath at 5pm and a bottle and i massage him but he will be awake by 8pm wanting food. it is now midnight and he is in his cot playing and wide awake! ahhhh. please help as i am not sleeping much! thanks

I think you should be aiming for a 7-7 routine -might be worth trying baby rice and a lttle milk at tea time about 5ish then stimulating him till about 6 bath time till 6;30 Can you spin bath time out a bit longer with a bath seat and a few bath toys? then between 6.30 & seven quiet time with bedtime bottle and a cuddle. Put him down for the night at 7

Is he still waking for a feed in the night? if so try topping him up about 11.30 dont take him out of his room and keep it dimly lit whilst giving the feed. try not to stimulate him during this time just give the feed dont talk too much give a cuddle and then straight back down to sleep. I know it can be tiring staying up till almost midnight but if you could have 7 hours uninterupted sleep surely it would be better than keep having broken sleep.

Not sure if this is the right advice but it worked for mine eventually it went to an 8-8 routine which suited me fine.

What works for 1 dosnt always work for another but it might be worth a try. i did find that quite often he would be crabby about 5pm but it was worth trying to keep him awake for the full nights sleep. Try not to let baby sleep for more than an hour after 3ish or otherwise he will feel refreshed after a couple of hours at tea time and be up all night.

Sorry im no expert can only say what worked for mine by 10 weeks he slept through the night every night. You might have to persivere with this routine for more that a couple of nights though as it sounds as if your little one is already in his own little routine and habits are hard to break.

Hope someone else comes along with some alternative ideas for you to try cause its all trial and error and ultimatley i think at this age baby will decide whats happening! lol.

hi rachel,, i would try making his bedtime routine a little later,say by 15 each night for a few weeks until you end up with a 5pm tea,6pm bath,play/wind down time then bed around 7ish...
i tried this and it worked surprisingly well and quickly. i read about changing the routine little by little so they dont react too badly to the change and it seems a good way to do it.
also i read a book of my neighbours called...(*runs off to find it*)...."teach your child to sleep" by millponds childrens sleep clinic..hamlyn.
its all about solving sleep patterns and routines from newborns through childhood. it was really helpful for us.
i hope this helps,,get in touch if you need to have a "not getting any sleep" rant haha xx
Sass xx